Missing Ichigo
by Geek-Face-Kitsune
Summary: It's a year after the events in the manga. Kisshu is back on his home planet. Which they managed to save. But he's still not happy. I wonder why?
1. Chapter 1

"Ichigo..." he sighed, quietly, the image of candy pink hair and a cute little grin clouding his mind.

"You're not still moaning about her, are you?" Pai inquired, although he know the answer only too well. "It's been ages now..."

And it had. A whole year had passed since the events in Tokyo, since they had met the Mew Mews, and since Kisshu had seen Ichigo. During that long year, they had restored their home planet, and everything had worked out for them. But Kish still wasn't happy.

"Taruto got to stay with Pudding, so why couldn't I be with Ichigo?" he whined.

"That was different, Pudding actually returned his feelings..." Pai replied, a little too much edge in his voice.

It was true, Taruto had returned to Earth to check up on Pudding a while back. After discovering how much they missed each other Taruto decided to stay in Tokyo. Pudding, with her whole family to care for, could hardly leave with Taru-Taru. Besides, the Mews needed her.

Kisshu sighed again, his eyes sad and dull. It had been a long year for him, his hair hung limply around his face, and his amber eyes were no longer bright and glittering. He missed her. He missed her so much...

Ichigo slumped at her desk by the window, staring dazily out at the bright skies of Tokyo, the shadow of a faint smile playing on her lips. Memories. She looked back.

A boy, kissing her. A boy, calling her pet names. A boy, who claimed he was her enemy, yet the way he gazed at her told her that there was so much more to it than that.

"Ichigo! Are you even listening to a word I say?" A sharp voice barked, shattering her dreams and startling her, and black cat ears shot up.

Ichigo crammed her hands over her head, and made out that she was thinking deeply.

"Erm, I don't suppose... You could maybe repeat the question?" She asked, reddening and feeling rather embarrassed.

Sensei looked at her and sighed, looking disappointed. She looked as if she was about to say something, but the bell rang out, loud and clear, and the sounds of people packing their things away filled the silence.

"Ichigo, stay behind, please."

She flopped back down on her desk, leaving her stuff scattered and her bag half open. This was gonna take a while. The classroom emptied, and Sensei sat down opposite Ichigo.

"Ichigo, you were doing so well, you're grades were excellent. What happened? Are there any problems at home, maybe?" She asked, sympathetically.

"N-n-no, it's not that. It's just there's, erm, a lot of work to do, and I've just been really busy, so I'm kind of really tired..." Ichigo murmured.

Of course, there were no problems at home. But Tokyo Mew Mew had been so busy lately, over the last year, disposing of the Chimera Anima that had been left behind, and restoring Toyko since Kisshu and his team had visited. Also, with it being Summer, the café had been busier than ever, and as usual, no one else did any work. Summer also meant exams, so between work and fighting aliens, Ichigo had to cram in some studying. It was not going well.

"Okay, if you're sure... It's okay, you can go now." Sensei told her. "But if there are any problems, you know you can talk to me about it, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, okay. Thanks." Ichigo gathered her things and left the room, letting the door fall shut behind her.

Talk to her sensei about it? No, that would never work. She couldn't afford to let anyone else find out about her little secret. Not only was the stress of being a Mew bothering her, but Masaya and her were no longer together. Things had happened, and they had both gone their seperate ways. But that wasn't what bothered her, she realised she had never really loved Masaya as much as she thought she had, and was glad that it was over. What was bothering her was something else, someone else, who she had probably blown her chances with, and would probably never see again...


	2. Chapter 2

There was an empty space is his arms that he longed her to fill, that he needed her warm body to occupy. But it was too late, she hadn't wanted him, and she never would.

Kisshu perched on the rooftop, lean legs dangling over the edge, his skinny arms anchoring him to the railing above him. The sun set over Toyko, setting in a strange light, projecting him in fiery oranges and venemous yellows. A few lonely stars glittered faintly in the darkening sky, reflecting in his dull eyes.

Sometimes, he liked to come here, despite that he hated that Toyko was the home of his hurt and refection. Occasionally, Kish just needed to feel the wavering heat as the sun dipped lower beneath the magnificent cityscape, and he needed the familiar scent of Tokyo. He could taste it on his tongue, yet the faint scent of Ichigo still lingered. He felt a cool breeze gently ruffle his dark hair, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose.

Moments like this, silent, solitary and secret, were rare for him. Every once in a while, he managed to escape from the ever-watchful eye of Pai, always so superior, to the serenity of Toyko, so welcoming with its bright lights and intoxicating smells.

Sunset was the most beautiful time of day on the planet called Earth, Kisshu decided, when the city was all aglow in striking oranges and deep vermilions, and everything was different, changed, set in a different light. If only people were like that. If only... If only people could be seen in a different light, even the slightest difference could change how a person was viewed in the eyes of another. If only Ichigo could see him differently. Not the enemy, not the hated one, but so much more than that. If only...

"I wonder if he still thinks of me..." Ichigo wondered, sleepily. Images of Kisshu with an attractive female alien swarmed her mind, and her heart suddenly ached. "I bet I'm right. He's forgotten all about me, and he's off hooking up with his new girlfriend right now! And he claimed to love me! But then... so did Masaya... and look how _that _turned out! Eurgh!" She burrowed back under the covers, heart still aching, and tried to remember her dream. He was there, she knew he had been there. He always was.

"Ichigo! Breakfast!" Her mum's voice rang out from outside her bedroom door, disrupting her thoughts. Traces of the dream slipped away from her rapidly and she tried to grasp them, to hold onto them, but it was like holding sand in a closed fist; hopeless. She had lost it, it was forgotten, forever.

Ichigo shook the dream from her head and propped herself up on her mass of pillows. First thing on a morning was always the worst. Awakening from her dreams, awakening to reality, but the blissful sense of his arms snaked around her waist still lingered, just slightly, the touch of his gentle hands on her soft skin. Merely recalling the sensation sent shivers down her spine, and her heart ached even more as she remembered that she was alone. He was not there, and he never had been.


	3. Chapter 3

The school bell rang, a dull sounds, but it was music to Ichigo's ears, signaling the end of the day. "Finally," Ichigo breathed, it felt as if she had been holding her breath for hours. She hurriedly gathered her things and raced out of the classroom, and into the yard, battling through the school gates, still running. Only when the school was completely out of sight, when the shouts and laughter could no longer be heard over the rush hour traffic, did she stop. Ichigo bent over, her hands on her knees as she gasped for air.

The day had been so strange, so awful. School had seemed so confining, the air seemed to choke her. During any silence, Ichigo would be sure that all eyes were locked onto her, and the facts and figures spouting from her Sensei's mouths skimmed past her, barely denting her mind. The minutes had ticked by like hours until the day finally ended, and Ichigo couldn't wait to leave, to breathe easy once more.

Ichigo stood up, still breathing sharply, and set off walking at a slow place. Btu she wasn't turned in the direction of home. Ichigo took each step at a time, one foot after the other, and headed forward towards the centre of Tokyo. Gradually, her breathing steadied and fell into rhythm with her light footsteps.

Ichigo needed to be alone. She needed to think. She needed to breathe. She kept walking at a steady pace, barely blinking, never wavering, harsh determination on her face. As the sun faded and the Tokyo skyline became a silhouette, nothing could stop Ichigo getting to where she needed to be.

The cool breeze chilled Kish as he sat on his rooftop, watching the sun sink below the horizon. Tokyo was quiet that night, and there was a tension evident in the air that seemed like the entire world was holding it's breath, in waiting for something. Distant traffic tickled his ears until he heard, far below, the chatter and laughter as a couple passed below him. Kisshu merely glanced at the pair before gazing back at the sunset, but then he did a double take. He knew that person. He knew that face. That voice. The source of so much hatred. It was _him_. "Masaya," Kish spat the words out from his lips, it disgusted him. The Blue Knight, his rival in the battle for Ichigo's heart. And after claiming to love Ichigo... after winning... here was was, wandering that streets of Tokyo with another girl. What would Ichigo think?

Anger boiled up inside of Kish, and as the couple stopped to embrace one another, the anger rose up inside of him and he let out a scream. Eyes wide and fiery, he dived down towards the pair, and Masaya looked up, terror evident in his dark eyes.

She took the steps two at a time, needing to escape from the thick air of the staircase. She burst through the door into the fresh air, and stepped out onto the abandoned roof terrace. She was the only person that still visited there, she knew. It was where she used to play as a child, and looking out over the edge of that rooftop, it felt as if she could see the entire world, and for the first time in a long time, Ichigo felt in control again. Up there, in the cool air that sent shivers down her spine, she could think straight, and see things clearly.

Ichigo sat down near the edge of the rooftop, pulling her knees close to her body and closed her eyes for a while. The sounds of Tokyo blurred and merged into one, then faded away as Ichigo focused on other things. Her body was held tense, but up here, her mind could relax. It was one of the few destinations she felt truly safe and accepted. That rooftop had known her since she was a small child, yet it still held the same magic for her now as it had back then.

Suddenly, Ichigo's silence was shattered by a piercing scream, and she jumped up, running to the edge of the rooftop, and catching the source of the outburst, her eyes grew wide and a small gasp escaped her lips..


	4. Chapter 4

A streak of deep green flashed through the air in front of her, descending rapidly, and she breathed out in a whisper, "Kisshu.." Her heart, pounding in her chest, in her head, the adrenaline pumping through her veins, but she froze, stood on the rooftop, as the wind blew her hair around her face, tendrils curling around her neck. A few seconds later, Ichigo remembered to breathe, and took a precarious step forward, tucking a few stray hairs behind her ear. She dared to hope, and leaned forward, over the edge of the rooftop, letting her weight rest upon the rusted metal railings that edged around the perimeter. The green shape was still slicing through the air below her, shrieking, set on a vertical course, towards two figures on the street far below. She leaned forward to see more as the green streak dove deeper, reluctant to lose him from sight, and caught her breath as the metal railing shifted beneath her weight. Just as she flung her arm backwards to grip the next railing, the weathered metal gave way completely, and she tumbled from the edge of the building, her arms flailing for something to anchor her, a shrill scream filling the air around her.

Kisshu was roaring now, he was coming closer to his enemy, but a sound broke through his deep snarls, and he heard a scream above him, piercing and frantic. Glancing his golden eyes upwards to the sky, the radiant sunset sky was blocked by a shadow falling towards him, falling fast, but Kisshu was almost at the ground now. Masaya was fearfully watching him fall towards him with wide, startled eyes, but his gaze suddenly shifted, to above Kisshu's head, to whatever was about to collide with him in flight. Just as his feet barely touched the ground, Kisshu braced himself and stretched his arms outwards to catch the falling body and cradle it in his arms, and the screaming softened to a faint cry. The body uncurled itself, and a small face, surrounded by a familiar tangle of hair, turned toward Kisshu, and their eyes met, only for a moment, but the connection and emotion in the collision of their gaze was undeniable. The next moment, Ichigo was gone.

Ichigo opened her eyes, she was dazed. She was sure she had just seen him, Kisshu, he had just been there with her, she'd been in the wonderful, perfect fit of his arms, but as her vision adjusted slowly, another familiar figure stood over her. Dark hair and muddy brown eyes, with an anxious, uncomfortable expression in them; Masaya was here. A girl of around her own age was stood wrapped around his arm, clinging to him in a way that seemed almost pathetic to Ichigo, and she realised that no, Kisshu wasn't here, he never had been, it had all just been in her mind. As she struggled to push herself into an upright position, Masaya stepped back, confusion evident in his half open mouth, as if he didn't quite know what to say. She stumbled past the couple, a little wobbly on her feet, and Masaya turned towards her, and shouting to her, asking if she was okay, but her back was turned, and she wasn't listening anymore. Ichigo hurt, not so much from the fall, but her heart, from missing him.


	5. Chapter 6

Kisshu found himself back on his own planet opposite Pai, who sat with his arms crossed against his slender chest. Kisshu smiled sheepishly and turned to leave the room, but Pai pounced forwards and locked his hand around Kish's forearm. "You can't keep doing this, you know. Watching her. You need to move on," he spoke, is his deep, solemn voice.

"I don't know what you mean.." Kisshu smiled with gritted teeth.

"You think I didn't know you were in Toyko all those times? You think I don't notice your mood changes when you've see her?"

Kisshu looked up at Pai with wide eyes and he relaxed his stance, causing Pai to loosen his grip on Kisshu's arm. Kish then sat down, burying his head in his hands whilst Pai looked down at him, confused.

"I don't go there to see her. I just go there to think, to get some peace. Only today.. today, I saw her. Right before you brought me back here," Kisshu spoke with slight remorse as Pai sat down again, looking guilty, but eager to listen. Kisshu explained what had happened, but what he couldn't explain was the electricity; the connection that lasted only a moment when he and Ichigo's gazes met. He needed to see her again, he knew it, he could feel it in his heart. Pai tensed throughout the conversation, he knew that this meeting would only cause Kisshu more hurt.

"It's a good job I brought you back then, these feelings just show that you're still not over her. You need to move on," Kish tensed as he spoke, "she didn't want you then and she doesn't want you now," Pai spat as he rose once more, and turned his back away from Kish. His brotherly love for Kish was strong and he hated to see Ichigo hurt him like this. He hated the hope in Kisshu's eyes as he thought about her; she had hurt him once and she would hurt him again. Broken hearts take too much time to heal. Much better to seal your heart off completely, where nobody can touch it, nobody can get close enough to break it, like him.

As Ichigo lay in bed that night, unable to sleep, thoughts of Kisshu swarmed her mind. Thinking about his bright amber eyes, the way they shone when he gazed at her, and the cheeky little grin on his face as he called her Kitty.. She had been so sure, looking up after her fall, that Kish had been there, so sure she could smell that musky scent of him, and that electric connection as their eyes met briefly. But then he was gone. Was this yearning for him having such a strain on her that she was hallucinating? No, she knew it had been him, she knew he'd been there; she just had to find him again. She just didn't know how. Taking comfort in the memory of Kisshu's arms wrapped around her, an exhausted Ichigo closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep as the sun began to rise over the Tokyo skyline.

Kisshu lay on his bed staring at the ceiling, his arms behind his head and his mind full of Ichigo. He had thought he would never see her again, but she fell, right into his arms, like an angel falling from heaven.. It could have been his chance, his one chance to talk to her again, to smell her sweet strawberry fragrance, and maybe even to taste her soft lips.. But it was too late now, she was gone.

But that wasn't enough for Kisshu, it was never too late. He had thought she had forgotten about him, moved on, but there was proof in the electricity between them when she had met his gaze, that had to mean something, didn't it?

He teleported to a suburban area of Tokyo, where a row of houses lay before him. He didn't have to think about which house it was, he knew, and he could feel his heart pulling him towards her like a magnet. Climbing the tree outside her room, Kisshu was nervous, he felt a fluttering in his heart and what felt like butterflies in his stomach, but there was no turning back now.

Ichigo's window was open on the balmy summer's night, and strawberry print curtains rustled in the gentle breeze, as if coaxing him further, teasing him, enticing him inside. Stepping lightly on the sturdy branch that stretched to her window, Kisshu crept slowly forwards and gazed inside at the sleeping Ichigo, curled up in her bed and smiling sweetly in her sleep. Before he could think about it, he stepped inside the room, almost silently. Ichigo stirred slightly, and turned over to face where he stood, and her breathing changed. Kisshu took a step back towards the window, as one of Ichigo's eyes opened slightly..

Ichigo opened her eyes in a daze, the world around her a blur as she struggled to focus. Drowsy and confused, she saw a figure stood across from her. "I must still be dreaming.." she whispered, as her eyes began to focus and she realised who was in her bedroom. "K-K-K-Kisshu?" she sat up slowly, propping herself up. He had a panicked look on his face, and she tilted her head in confusion, looking up at him. The frenzied look on Kisshu's face faded and he smiled at her slightly, and it warmed her heart. She put one foot on the floor, and stood up slowly, and the realisation hit her. Kisshu. He was in her room, right now, he was within arm's reach. "Kisshu!" A radiant smile spread across her face, and she took a step towards him. His smile grew, and his eyes lit up as he moved towards her, his arms outstretched. She rushed into them, tears already in her eyes, and he wrapped his arms tight around her as she buried her head in his chest. "Ichigo.." he whispered, as he buried his face in her soft strawberry hair. "I've missed you."


End file.
